


I couldn’t forget (not even if I tried)

by arcana_fuse



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora’s birthday, Catra knows what a party is now, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Jealousy, catra gets Adora a gift despite everything, catra is a sucker for adora, catradora, ignore season 4 cause that shit hurted, some childhood speculation, sometime in s3, theyre so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22441264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcana_fuse/pseuds/arcana_fuse
Summary: Even on opposite sides of the war, Catra knows that it's Adora's birthday. How could she forget?Despite being enemies, Catra (as always) does something nice for Adora's birthday. Even if it repulses her every being.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 265





	I couldn’t forget (not even if I tried)

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to post this on Adora’s birthday, but.. well, that obviously didn’t happen. 
> 
> Enjoy! (:

Catra had been sitting like this for what seemed like hours. Laying on her back in her wretched cot, staring off to the side at the wall it was shoved up against. On the wall, a white calendar stood out brightly as compared to the dark paint of her room. As much as she tried to ignore it, the date circled with bright red marker on the reusable calendar seemed to taunt her every being.

She stared at the calendar blankly, wishing it would explode into a cloud of fire with the sheer intensity of her gaze.When it doesn't, she rips down the front of it in a sudden burst of rage, chest heaving. _Control, Catra,_ she reminded herself, lowering her claws away from the now butchered parchment. Fixing the collar of her shirt, she exhaled deeply before reminding herself of the prime goal.

_It's just a day. Just ignore it. It doesn't even matter, and it's not your responsibility anymore._ She told herself, pushing the nagging urge in her chest away.

She wrestled an object out of her pocket, bringing it to her mouth. "Scorpia, come in." She barks into the com, which is clutched between her fingers a little too tightly.

As expected, an immediate response.

"Oh! Wildcat, hey! It's been a while since we've talked, you know? I was just wondering—"

"Not now, Scorp. Do you want to go down to the training room and spar for a bit?" Catra had never directly asked this of Scorpia before, but a good fight was really the only go-to solution to clear her mind. And Scorpia was undoubtably one of the best fighters in the Fright Zone. Maybe this was exactly what she needed to distract herself.

"Oh, okay." Scorpia seemed surprised by this statement. "..Got something on your mind?"

"Something like that." She said, turning off the com and sighing.

Taking one last glance at the shredded calendar, she huffed and ran a hand through her hair. She could hardly believe she was even struggling to cope with this. She couldn't allow this.. emotional circumstance to interfere with her duties as Hordak's second-in-command.

=================

She couldn't help it. As much as her mind warned against it and pushed the thoughts away, she hadn't obeyed them. Here she was, in all of her shame, bent down beside Adora's old cot, sifting through her unemptied drawers. _Idiot_ , she scolded herself, _what the hell do you think you're doing?_ And strangely enough, for once the pounding voice within her thoughts seemed too far away to listen.

She hadn't dared to approach anywhere near that bed ever since Adora's departure. She had no reason to. The only reason she'd ever come close, much less slept there was because of Adora. And now that she was gone, the dark and empty corner of the room was nothing but a bad memory. It felt weird being here, going through her things that had been left relatively untouched almost as if she were still here.

Her ear twitched in curiosity as she scoured through the drawers, pulling out various items that had meant a lot to Adora, but she'd obviously left behind without much thought. _I wonder if I'm one of those things_ , Catra thought idly to herself. In the bottom of the drawer, her clawed fingertips grasped an item. She quickly pulled it out of its hiding place, eyes catching sight of a gleaming, cracked picture frame.

Running her thumb over the side of it, she recognized the photo instantly.

Some two or three years ago, they had taken a squadron photo, their _only_ photo considering cameras were strictly forbidden. That explains why it was hidden. Present in the picture was Adora, who was smiling brightly, an arm wrapped tightly around Catra's shoulder. Kyle was on Rogelio's shoulders, throwing a peace sign, and Lonnie stood from a good distance away considering she was terribly sick when the photo had been taken. Her mouth was covered by a mask and she crossed her arms, unfailingly managing an annoyed eyeroll despite a smile peeking from underneath the mask. Catra, too, was smiling, much too brightly for her churning stomach to handle. Catra's mind had selectively ignored sentimental moments like this with the other cadets, but knew a sap like Adora cared about it more than anything.

Did she even miss them? Did she even care? Granted, Catra never got along well with the other cadets, especially not now. But she remembers Adora telling her that even after all of their fallouts and bad moments, they were still family. And the only one they'd ever had. And Catra had taken those words to heart in someway, remembering the word "family" every time she gazed at Adora.

She hesitated a moment, wondering if she should give it to Adora for her birthday. She'd.. _always_ given Adora a gift.

Though they didn't have a real birthdate, (considering nobody they knew was present when they were born) they were, naturally, assigned one at some point.

As soon as Adora's date was assigned at Shadow Weaver's orientation, Catra had burned into into the back of her brain as if it were her own. Even though the Horde officers assured them that they were nothing special and only a mere number; that hadn't come close to restraining Catra's determination to go all out on Adora's various birthdays. Somehow, a part of herself screamed that this year shouldn't be any different.

Another much stronger part reminded her that they were enemies, now. Adora probably hated her. Catra wanted to, aswell, but wasn't sure if she could ever fully do so. Growing up with someone constantly by your side tended to have that effect on you.

=======================

Bright moon was especially shiny tonight, the water surrounding the bridge-like entrance glimmering from the streaks the moon emitted. The breeze felt better today than it had in awhile, weaving through Catra's hair softly. The catgirl closed her eyes and basked in it momentarily, knowing peaceful moments like this were scarce occurrences in the midst of a war.

She scaled the castle easily, guessing on where Adora's celebration could be taking place, if they were even having one. This hadn't been her first visit, after all, having to watch Bright Moon closely in order to gather information for Horde. She guessed on the large dome-like structure to the far right of the castle, remembering it appeared much like a dining hall on the inside.

She crawled through the open window at the top of it, (so much for security) and perched herself on a structural plank at the top of the room. Peering down, she spotted a small crowd of people chattering absentmindedly, and in the center, blonde hair and blue eyes.

She shouldn’t be surprised they were having a party for her. Of course they'd celebrate Adora. I mean, why wouldn't they? She was, essentially, carrying the entire rebellion on her back. But Catra idly wondered if they'd done it just because it's Adora, or simply because of all she'd done for them. Catra seemed to accuse them of the latter as her eyes narrowed, tail lashing in annoyance.

Adora was accompanied by her two new best friends, practically adjoined to her hip as always. Catra remembered being captured by those two rebellion losers, genuinely wondering how Adora could stand them for more than two seconds. Knuckles turning white as she gripped the wood of her perch tightly in indignation.

She sees them all smiling. Not a bad look for Adora, it never was, the small stretch of her mouth come a laugh had always complimented her sharp features. Catra felt repulsed in the fact that even after all that had happened, she still felt genuine peace at the sight of Adora's happiness. It was even harder to accept that she wasn't the one behind it.

Beside her, one of her besties laughed a bit too hard at something Adora had said. Glitter, was it? So many sparkles and so much pink and purple, Catra could vomit. But not only at her sheer princess-oriented appearance, but the way she smiled at Adora. Catra wanted nothing more than to slap away the gloved hand currently present on Adora's shoulder. She shuddered at the thought, quickly shaking it out of her brain. After all, she'd come here to do one thing and one thing only.

Better now before she started to regret it.

Still as a statue on the structure, she continued to watch closely as Adora was berated with congratulations from her various princess friends. As the room slowly began to clear out, Catra's ear flicked curiously as her multicolored orbs caught sight of a frown pulling at Adora's lips.

What could she possibility be sad about? It was clear by what Catra had just witnessed that everybody here loved her. She had her princess friends, an immense castle to train with, Catra could count off an extensive list of the luxuries Adora now had if she had the time or even cared. So what was with the disappointment?

“I’ll meet you guys at the bayou in a bit, I’m going to use the restroom.” Adora said, waving off her companions.

_Perfect_ , Catra thought. She’d sneak into Adora’s room while she was sure that it was unoccupied.

Leaping back through the window in the room of the dining hall, she crept along the roof quietly. She neared the west end of the castle where she had previously surveyed residential dorms. Finding the open window to what looked like Adora’s room, she jumped inside. It was _just like_ Adora to leave her room so unprotected, practically begging for an intruder.

Upon entering, her skin prickled at the stale air. Already, the room was uncomfortably different from the fright zone dorms. A waterfall spilled into a small pool in the corner, a fluffy bed taking up the vast majority of the space. Though Catra’s sharp eyes hadn’t missed the dirty old cot that was beside it, looking much more used than the larger sleeping arrangement. Seems old habits didn’t change all that much with Adora.

Nearing what looked like a bedside table, Catra scoured the surface of it. A new photo sat upon it, though it was probably allowed here, of her, glitter and archer boy crushed into one big hug. Catra could feel her heart sink into her chest at the scrawled writing above, reading “Best friends squad!” (:

She wanted to smash it, bile crawling up her throat. Adora had sure moved on easily.

Before she could even think about replacing the photo, she was interrupted by the door to the room opening.

“Catra?" She froze, feeling a shiver slide up her body at the questioning voice behind her.Seems her calculations were a bit off, and Adora wasn’t _actually_ going to the bathroom. She should’ve known better. “..What are you doing here?"

Catra, instinctively, hid the picture frame from Adora’s view, swallowing loudly. Refusing to turn around.

Adora filled the silence for them.

“Catra, I don't know what you're up to, but I'm giving you ten seconds to leave before I alert everyone in Bright Moon."

She was going to let her go? This came as an immense surprise to Catra, who'd thought Adora would jump for joy at the chance of throwing her in a moldy cell forever. Which is why she'd been so discreet about this, after all.

She finally turned to face Adora. She just watched her, wordlessly, blue and gold eyes glowing brightly in the emerging darkness of the room. Adora seemed to bite her tongue and hold back what she truly wanted to say, an eyebrow raised.

She looked cute, actually. Hair tied up in a messy bun, likely just done with washing her face. And probably with proper soap, too, better than any product they were provided in the Fright zone. She was wearing a fluffy robe over her nightclothes, draped so far down its edges touched the floor. She was ready for bed alright.

Though the dagger she'd pulled out of the robe that she now pointed at Catra was a little less adorable. The glare she offered her a little alarming, if anything. It was so like Adora to walk around with a knife so casually.

"Did you really think I’d forget, Adora?" She seemed to subtly mention her birthday, and Adora's eyes widened. “ _Ouch_ ,” Catra feigned a sad gaze, loving nothing more than a stiff reaction from the blonde girl, and she basked in her dubious expression.

"So what'd you do then? Stop by to give me a gift? What is this, Catra?" She glared at her, hard and untrusting, but still managed to step closer. Catra really couldn't blame her.

"Mm.. something like that, Princess." The excess of questions made Catra's mind buzz in annoyance, but she kept her cool. This was taking a turn she’d very well take advantage of. Stepping dangerously close to Adora, the confusion was imminent across the blonde’s pretty face. Adora’s cheeks burning crimson at their sudden closeness, she must’ve thought the darkness of the room could mask her embarrassment from Catra’s skillful eyes.

"I don't understand—“ Adora whispered,

Before a coherent thought of any kind could be fathomed, it was quickly stolen away by the realization that Catra was kissing her. Catra, her ex-best friend, newfound enemy, was kissing her. Her grip on her dagger loosened until it had finally clattered to the floor. Adora’s head screamed at her to pull away, that this was wrong on so many levels, but she couldn't dare bring herself to obey it. Adora's shock subsided as she drowned in the feeling of Catra's soft lips. Her clawed hand holding Adora's jaw, Catra was careful with her incisors, keeping her movements slow as to not nip Adora on accident.

It was immensely hard to ignore the heat that curled up Adora's neck as they kissed. She could feel Catra smirk against her lips, knowing better than anyone that in the right circumstance, Adora could be easily embarrassed.

Adora could feel Catra begin to pull away after a couple of seconds, her gut dipping in disappointment. Disconnecting their lips with a pop, Catra could only grin.

"Happy birthday, 'Dora," she breathed, stepping away from her, though not without one last glance at Adora's now swollen lips. Adora stood motionless, face burning relentlessly as she watched her go.

She brought a finger to her mouth, pupils still blown in amazement from what had just happened. Even in her aching confusion, Adora's mind played like a broken record, knowing only one thing for sure. 

That was, undoubtably, her best birthday gift yet.

And the cracked photograph Catra had left on her nightstand was certainly a close second.


End file.
